Copa América Centenario Group A

Group A of the Copa América Centenario consisted of hosts United States, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Paraguay. Matches began on June 3 and ended on June 11, 2016. All times are EDT (UTC−4).

The United States and Colombia advanced to the quarter-finals.

Teams

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Draw position Team Confederation Method of
qualification
Finals
appearance
Last
appearance
Previous best
performance
FIFA Rankings
December 2015[nb 1] June 2016
A1 (seed)   United States CONCACAF Hosts 4th 2007 Fourth Place (1995) 32 31
A2   Colombia CONMEBOL Automatic qualifier 21st 2015 Winners (2001) 8 3
A3   Costa Rica CONCACAF 2014 Copa Centroamericana champions 5th 2011 Quarter-finals (2001 and 2004) 37 23
A4   Paraguay CONMEBOL Automatic qualifier 36th 2015 Winners (1953 and 1979) 46 44
Notes
  1. ^ The rankings of December 2015 were used for seeding for the final draw, except for certain cases.

Standings

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   United States (H) 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6 Advance to knockout stage
2   Colombia 3 2 0 1 6 4 +2 6
3   Costa Rica 3 1 1 1 3 6 −3 4
4   Paraguay 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
Source: CONMEBOL & CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

In the quarter-finals:

  • The winner of Group A, United States, advanced to play the runner-up of Group B, Ecuador.
  • The runner-up of Group A, Colombia, advanced to play the winner of Group B, Peru.

Matches

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United States vs Colombia

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The two teams had met in seventeen previous encounters, the last being a friendly held in 2014 at Craven Cottage in London, a match won by Colombia 2–1.[1] Both teams had also met in two Copa América editions: the 1995 third-place match, won by Colombia 4–1, and in a group stage match in 2007, also won by Colombia, with a lone goal by Jaime Castrillón.[2]

Colombia won the match 0–2 with first-half goals scored by Cristián Zapata and James Rodríguez.[3] United States' manager Jürgen Klinsmann stated that he was "pleased" with the performance of his team, he also saw the penalty as the "major point of the game",[4] a remark to which American player Clint Dempsey agreed.[5] Colombia's manager José Pekerman recognized the competitiveness of their rivals, but commented that "we could have scored a couple more."[4]

United States  0–2  Colombia
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
GK 1 Brad Guzan
RB 2 DeAndre Yedlin
CB 20 Geoff Cameron
CB 6 John Brooks
LB 23 Fabian Johnson
CM 11 Alejandro Bedoya   57'   86'
CM 4 Michael Bradley (c)
CM 13 Jermaine Jones   66'
RF 9 Gyasi Zardes
CF 8 Clint Dempsey
LF 7 Bobby Wood   66'
Substitutions:
FW 17 Christian Pulisic   66'
MF 10 Darlington Nagbe   66'
MF 19 Graham Zusi   86'
Manager:
  Jürgen Klinsmann
 
GK 1 David Ospina
RB 4 Santiago Arias
CB 2 Cristián Zapata
CB 22 Jeison Murillo
LB 19 Farid Díaz
CM 13 Sebastián Pérez   86'
CM 16 Dani Torres
RM 11 Juan Cuadrado
AM 10 James Rodríguez (c)   73'
LM 8 Edwin Cardona
CF 7 Carlos Bacca   88'
Substitutions:
MF 5 Guillermo Celis   73'
MF 6 Carlos Sánchez   86'
FW 17 Dayro Moreno   88'
Manager:
  José Pékerman

Man of the Match:[7]
Cristián Zapata (Colombia)

Assistant referees:[8]
José Luis Camargo (Mexico)
Alberto Morín (Mexico)
Fourth official:[8]
Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)
Fifth official:[8]
Kléber Lúcio Gil (Brazil)

Costa Rica vs Paraguay

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The two teams had met in eight previous occasions, the last being a friendly in the Costa Rican national stadium in March 2015, resulting in a scoreless draw.[9] In Copa América, both teams faced once, in a 2004 group stage match, won by Paraguay with a late penalty kick goal scored by Julio dos Santos.[10]

Just as their previous friendly meeting, the game ended in a scoreless draw.[10] Costa Rican manager Óscar Ramírez commented that it was "a two-faced match" and that "I would say we have lost two points".[11] Paraguay's manager Ramón Díaz also though that his team lost two points; he was also critical of the hour chosen for the game, commenting that "I would like to take the actual protagonists, the players, in consideration".[12]

Costa Rican player Kendall Waston was shown the red card in the stoppage time after a tackle against Nelson Valdez, becoming the first player to be sent-off in the tournament.[13] Regarding the incident, Waston commented, "when I saw the red card I felt the world coming over me, because this tournament is very short and we all want to play".[14]

Costa Rica  0–0  Paraguay
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Costa Rica
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paraguay
GK 18 Patrick Pemberton
CB 19 Kendall Waston   90+4'
CB 2 Jhonny Acosta
CB 6 Óscar Duarte
RWB 16 Cristian Gamboa
LWB 22 Rónald Matarrita   49'
CM 5 Celso Borges
CM 17 Yeltsin Tejeda   1'   59'
AM 10 Bryan Ruiz (c)   78'
AM 12 Joel Campbell   67'
CF 21 Marco Ureña
Substitutions:
MF 14 Randall Azofeifa   59'
MF 11 Johan Venegas   67'
MF 7 Christian Bolaños   78'
Manager:
Óscar Ramírez
 
GK 1 Justo Villar (c)
RB 5 Bruno Valdez
CB 3 Gustavo Gómez
CB 14 Paulo da Silva
LB 6 Miguel Samudio
RM 10 Derlis González   83'   89'
CM 16 Celso Ortiz
CM 23 Robert Piris Da Motta
LM 21 Óscar Romero   70'
CF 7 Jorge Benítez   13'   73'
CF 19 Dario Lezcano
Substitutions:
FW 11 Édgar Benítez   70'
FW 18 Nelson Valdez   79'   73'
FW 15 Juan Iturbe   89'
Manager:
  Ramón Díaz

Man of the Match:[16]
Gustavo Gómez (Paraguay)

Assistant referees:[8]
Ezequiel Brailovsky (Argentina)
Ariel Scime (Argentina)
Fourth official:[8]
Yadel Martínez (Cuba)
Fifth official:[8]
Gustavo Rossi (Argentina)

United States vs Costa Rica

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The two teams had met in thirty-three previous occasions, the last being a friendly held at the Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, won by the Costa Rican side with a lone goal by Joel Campbell. This marked the first time both teams faced each other in a competitive match outside of CONCACAF official competitions. Before the match, the President of the United States Soccer Federarion (USSF) Sunil Gulati was interviewed on the status of U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann, saying, "Results are what matter. Everyone understands that. Results of the last 18 months, overall, haven't been what we would have hoped for. Especially in the official competitions." Many pundits took this to mean that Klinsmann's job was in jeopardy.

The United States got off to a flying start, with Bobby Wood drawing a penalty in the 9th minute that was converted by Clint Dempsey. Two other first half goals were scored by Wood and Jermaine Jones, and the scoring was finished by Graham Zusi late in the 2nd half. Zusi's goal would prove crucial in the long run, with the United States going on to win the group on goal difference.

United States  4–0  Costa Rica
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Costa Rica
GK 1 Brad Guzan
RB 2 DeAndre Yedlin
CB 20 Geoff Cameron
CB 6 John Brooks   81'
LB 23 Fabian Johnson   44'
CM 11 Alejandro Bedoya   83'
CM 4 Michael Bradley (c)
CM 13 Jermaine Jones
RF 9 Gyasi Zardes
CF 8 Clint Dempsey   78'
LF 7 Bobby Wood   70'
Substitutions:
MF 19 Graham Zusi   70'
FW 18 Chris Wondolowski   78'
MF 15 Kyle Beckerman   83'
Manager:
  Jürgen Klinsmann
 
GK 18 Patrick Pemberton
CB 6 Óscar Duarte
CB 2 Jhonny Acosta
CB 3 Francisco Calvo
RWB 16 Cristian Gamboa   46'
LWB 22 Rónald Matarrita
DM 5 Celso Borges
RM 7 Christian Bolaños
LM 12 Joel Campbell   46'
AM 10 Bryan Ruiz (c)
CF 21 Marco Ureña   18'
Substitutions:
FW 9 Álvaro Saborío   18'
DF 15 José Salvatierra   46'
MF 14 Randall Azofeifa   46'
Manager:
Óscar Ramírez

Man of the Match:[18]
Jermaine Jones (United States)

Assistant referees:[8]
Byron Romero (Ecuador)
Luis Vera (Ecuador)
Fourth official:[8]
John Pitti (Panama)
Fifth official:[8]
Gabriel Victoria (Panama)

Colombia vs Paraguay

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The two teams had met in forty-two previous occasions, the last being a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match held in Asunción, which the Colombian side won 2–1. In Copa América editions, they had not faced each other since a 2007 Copa América group stage match, won by Paraguay 5–0.

Colombia  2–1  Paraguay
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paraguay
GK 1 David Ospina
RB 4 Santiago Arias
CB 2 Cristián Zapata   90'
CB 22 Jeison Murillo   45+4'
LB 19 Farid Díaz
CM 13 Sebastián Pérez   58'
CM 16 Dani Torres
RM 11 Juan Cuadrado   87'
AM 10 James Rodríguez (c)
LM 8 Edwin Cardona
CF 7 Carlos Bacca
Substitutions:
MF 5 Guillermo Celis   58'
FW 21 Marlos Moreno   87'
DF 3 Yerry Mina   90'
Manager:
  José Pékerman
 
GK 1 Justo Villar (c)
RB 5 Bruno Valdez
CB 3 Gustavo Gómez
CB 14 Paulo da Silva
LB 6 Miguel Samudio
RM 21 Óscar Romero   79'   81'
CM 23 Robert Piris Da Motta   46'
CM 16 Celso Ortiz
LM 17 Miguel Almirón
CF 11 Édgar Benítez   46'
CF 19 Dario Lezcano   63'   67'
Substitutions:
DF 20 Víctor Ayala   46'
FW 7 Jorge Benítez   46'
FW 9 Antonio Sanabria   67'
Manager:
  Ramón Díaz

Man of the Match:[20]
James Rodríguez (Colombia)

Assistant referees:[8]
Kléber Lúcio Gil (Brazil)
Bruno Boschilia (Brazil)
Fourth official:[8]
Julio Bascuñán (Chile)
Fifth official:[8]
Christian Schiemann (Chile)

United States vs Paraguay

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The two teams had met in six previous occasions, the last being a friendly held at LP Field in 2011, won by Paraguay with a lone goal by Óscar Cardozo. In Copa América, they have faced once, a Paraguayan 3–1 victory in a 2007 group stage match. U.S. scored first, once again from Clint Dempsey on a cross from Gyasi Zardes. It would be the only goal of the game, but U.S. would not win without difficulty.

Early in the second half, DeAndre Yedlin was sent off following two yellow cards in quick succession, giving Paraguay a man advantage for almost 40 minutes. However, the United States defense held firm, mostly due to the efforts of John Brooks and Geoff Cameron. Following a shock victory by Costa Rica over Colombia, the United States ended up winning Group A.

United States  1–0  Paraguay
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Paraguay
GK 1 Brad Guzan
RB 2 DeAndre Yedlin   46'   47'
CB 20 Geoff Cameron
CB 6 John Brooks
LB 23 Fabian Johnson
CM 11 Alejandro Bedoya   74'
CM 4 Michael Bradley (c)   58'
CM 13 Jermaine Jones   87'
RW 9 Gyasi Zardes
CF 8 Clint Dempsey   49'
LW 7 Bobby Wood   71'   85'
Substitutions:
DF 14 Michael Orozco   78'   49'
MF 19 Graham Zusi   74'
MF 15 Kyle Beckerman   85'
Manager:
  Jürgen Klinsmann
 
GK 1 Justo Villar (c)
RB 14 Paulo da Silva
CB 3 Gustavo Gómez
CB 2 Fabián Balbuena   45'
LB 6 Miguel Samudio
RM 10 Derlis González
CM 20 Víctor Ayala   81'
CM 16 Celso Ortiz   12'   54'
LM 17 Miguel Almirón
CF 9 Antonio Sanabria   62'
CF 19 Dario Lezcano
Substitutions:
FW 15 Juan Iturbe   45'
MF 8 Juan Rodrigo Rojas   70'   54'
FW 7 Jorge Benítez   62'
Manager:
  Ramón Díaz

Man of the Match:[22]
John Brooks (United States)

Assistant referees:[8]
Carlos Astroza (Chile)
Christian Schiemann (Chile)
Fourth official:[8]
John Pitti (Panama)
Fifth official:[8]
Gabriel Victoria (Panama)

Colombia vs Costa Rica

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The two teams had met in eleven previous occasions, the last being a friendly held at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona in Buenos Aires in 2015, won by Colombia with a lone goal by Radamel Falcao. In Copa América, they have faced three times, with Colombia emerging victorious in every single occasion, including the last in 2011, with a goal scored by Adrián Ramos.

Colombia  2–3  Costa Rica
Report (CONMEBOL)
Report (CONCACAF)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colombia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Costa Rica
GK 12 Róbinson Zapata
RB 15 Stefan Medina
CB 14 Felipe Aguilar   66'
CB 3 Yerry Mina
LB 18 Frank Fabra
CM 5 Guillermo Celis
CM 6 Carlos Sánchez (c)
CM 13 Sebastián Pérez   46'
RF 17 Dayro Moreno   46'
CF 9 Roger Martínez   41'
LF 21 Marlos Moreno
Substitutions:
MF 8 Edwin Cardona   46'
MF 10 James Rodríguez   46'
MF 11 Juan Cuadrado   66'
Manager:
  José Pékerman
 
GK 18 Patrick Pemberton   83'
CB 19 Kendall Waston   87'
CB 2 Jhonny Acosta
CB 3 Francisco Calvo
RWB 15 José Salvatierra   46'
LWB 22 Rónald Matarrita
CM 14 Randall Azofeifa   44'
CM 5 Celso Borges   77'
RW 7 Christian Bolaños
LW 10 Bryan Ruiz (c)   78'
CF 11 Johan Venegas
Substitutions:
DF 8 Bryan Oviedo   46'
MF 17 Yeltsin Tejeda   77'
FW 12 Joel Campbell   90+2'   78'
Manager:
Óscar Ramírez

Man of the Match:[24]
Celso Borges (Costa Rica)

Assistant referees:[8]
Luis Sánchez (Venezuela)
Luis Murillo (Venezuela)
Fourth official:[8]
Daniel Fedorczuk (Uruguay)
Fifth official:[8]
Christian Ramírez (Honduras)

References

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  1. ^ Burns, John (November 14, 2014). "Amid Little Fanfare, Americans Lose in London". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  2. ^ "U.S. Falls to Colombia, 1-0, in the Group C Final at Copa America 2007 in Venezuela". USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  3. ^ Lutz, Tom (June 4, 2016). "USA beaten in Copa América opener as classy Colombia show them the way". The Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Godfrey, John (June 4, 2016). "Is Jurgen Klinsmann in Denial Over Colombia Loss?". American Soccer Now. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  5. ^ Keh, Andrew (June 4, 2016). "Jurgen Klinsmann Brushes Off Opening Loss for U.S. Team in Copa América". The New York Times. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Colombia opens the Copa America Centenario with win over the US". CONMEBOL. June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  7. ^ "Match 1 : USA vs Colombia". Copa América Centenario. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Referee Assignments for Copa America Centenario Matches". Copa América Centenario. 3 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  9. ^ Altamirano, Patricio (March 26, 2015). "Selección de Costa Rica fue pura entrega en deslucido empate ante Paraguay". La Nación. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Costa Rica empató 0-0 ante Paraguay en Orlando por Copa América". El Comercio. June 5, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  11. ^ "Óscar Ramírez cree que Costa Rica perdió dos puntos con Paraguay". Marca (in Spanish). June 5, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "Ramon Díaz, contra la prensa paraguaya: "Con mi experiencia sé cómo hay que llevar a los jóvenes"". La Nación (in Spanish). June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "VIDEO: Kendall Waston, el primer expulsado de la Copa América Centenario". Diario Diez (in Spanish). June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  14. ^ Zárate Sánchez, Andrés (June 6, 2016). "Tarjeta roja no deja dormir a Waston". Diario Extra (in Spanish). Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  15. ^ "Costa Rica, Paraguay draw 0–0 in Copa America; Waston sent off". Sports Illustrated. June 4, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  16. ^ "Match 2 : Costa Rica vs Paraguay". Copa América Centenario. 4 June 2016. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
  17. ^ "Back from the brink: USA 4 Costa Rica 0". CONMEBOL. June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  18. ^ "Match 9 : United States vs Costa Rica". Copa América Centenario. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Colombia defeats Paraguay, first to qualify". CONMEBOL. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  20. ^ "Match 10 : Colombia vs Paraguay". Copa América Centenario. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 June 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  21. ^ Narducci, Marc (June 11, 2016). "United States beats Paraguay 1-0 at Linc to advance in Copa America". Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  22. ^ "Match 17 : United States vs Paraguay". Copa América Centenario. June 11, 2016. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "Pékerman jugó con fuego y Colombia se quemó" [Pékerman played with fire and Colombia got burned] (in Spanish). CONMEBOL. June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  24. ^ "Match 18 : Colombia vs Costa Rica". Copa América Centenario. June 11, 2016. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
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